Busy reading Regency Romances

I have been busy reading some yummy Regency Romances. First up was A Lady's Secret by Jo Beverly. Robin Fitzvitry, the Earl of Huntersdown, is traveling on the Continent when along comes Petra D'Averio, disguised as a nun, and a swearing one at that! Eager to escape her demanding traveling companion, Petra accepts a ride from Robin, which leads to danger and adventure. Petra isn't who she seems and neither is Robin. Petra just wants to get to England to present herself to her father, who does not know she even exists. At every turn, there is a stumbling block to her journey. Will she finally make it to England alive? Robin just wants to protect her, but this feisty female seems to be holding her own! Set in Georgian times, this romance was delightful to read, filled with symbolism and enchanting to read. Tied in with a previous series of the author, A Lady's Secret can stand alone by itself on its own merits!

Right now I am reading two books. One is juicy romance, the other is a book about Word of Mouth (WOM) advertising (hey, I am a BzzAgent).

I have just begun Desperately Seeking a Duke, the first installment from Celeste Bradley in the Heiress Brides series. Phoebe Millbury is just one of 3 cousins vying for the family fortune. The grandfather, disappointed because none of his daughters married below his expectations, offers a prize to the first of his granddaughters (or great granddaughters if it comes to that) to marry a Duke, or someone in line to succeed to a dukedom. I am confident this will be a sizzling read, so I have already reserved the next two books in the series from my local library.

I am currently part of the way through The Word of Mouth Manual: Volume II, by Dave Balter, who is the founder of BzzAgent, a very successful Word of Mouth (WOM) advertising company. For those you who haven't heard of BzzAgent, it is a unique marketing company that believes that word of mouth advertising is the best kind. Agents of BzzAgent receive product samples, coupons, etc. in the mail and then talk about them to friends, family, strangers... all to get buzz, er bzz, generated about a product. Many people tune out television advertising, but when a friend tells you about a cool new product, you are more apt to listen. Couple that conversation with a coupon (sometimes a free coupon) or product sample, and you have now created a positive bzz experience. Agents report back any bzz contacts and are currently rewarded with points which can be redeemed through MyPoints.

But I digress here... I have been reading The Word of Mouth Manual: Volume II, which was easily downloaded from Seth Godin's site. Seth is a marketing guru in his own right. The book, which is downloaded via .pdf file is about 100 odd pages long. It is very easy to read and so far has discussed some interesting bits about word of mouth marketing, touching on the memorable Tickle Me Elmo marketing strategy that brilliantly got many parents to buy this toy sight unseen! So far, it has proved interesting. I'll report back with a full report later. If you are interested, you can download your own copy from Seth's site (linked above). Once you've read it, do come back and post your thoughts on the book.